Nouveau Monde Graphite Inc. (TSX-V: NOU) announced today that it has secured a $4.25M technology commercialization grant from federally-funded Sustainable Development Technology Canada program. The grant will be used to build a value-added graphite purification processing facility to be located in the province of Quebec. The plant will be the first phase of a commercial facility that will produce spherical graphite products for the North American market. Spherical graphite is a crucial component in the manufacture of anode materials for lithium ion batteries that are being used in green electric vehicles, energy storage and consumer product applications. Once in commercial production, Nouveau Monde will be the only producer of spherical graphite in North America, as most of the world’s spherical graphite is currently produced in China.

In order to be used as anode material, natural graphite concentrate must be purified to contain less than 500 ppm of impurities. The current purification processes, mainly installed in China, require a large quantity of chemicals which can have a significant negative environmental impact. Nouveau Monde aims to deploy a new green purification technology, which uses renewable hydroelectricity from Quebec. Since its inception, Nouveau Monde has demonstrated a desire to produce quality graphite in a sustainable manner for the growing lithium ion battery market. By being established in Quebec, Nouveau Monde benefits from green hydropower in its processing techniques, thereby reducing greenhouse gasses while at the same time reducing chemicals used.

Eric Desaulniers, President and CEO of Nouveau Monde commented, “I am honoured to receive this commercialization grant from the SDTC program. We successfully completed a rigorous due diligence and evaluation process and were selected from a number of applicants to receive this funding. Sustainable development and the environment have been at the forefront of our project development plans since the project began and we are committed to producing environmentally friendly graphite products that utilize the green hydroelectric and environmentally responsible mining techniques. Our green purification process uses renewable hydroelectricity from Quebec, which allows Nouveau Monde, the lithium-ion battery industry and Quebec to shine through these responsible and sustainable innovations.” 

“When many people hear the word graphite, they think pencil, but really they should be thinking about the battery in everything from their portable electronics to their electric vehicle. NMG is demonstrating that Canada can be a leader in the sustainable mining of this important resource for the future” said Leah Lawrence, SDTC President and CEO.

ABOUT NOUVEAU MONDE GRAPHITE

In 2015, Nouveau Monde Graphite discovered a major and high-quality graphite deposit on its Matawinie property, located in Saint-Michel-des-Saints, 150 km North of Montréal. This discovery led to the completion of a Feasibility Study, which revealed strong economics with projected graphite concentrate production level of 100,000 tonnes per year over a 26-year period. Nouveau Monde will operate its demonstration plant until 2020. During this period, the Corporation expects the production of 2,000 tonnes of concentrated flake graphite to qualify its products with North American and international clients.

Moreover, in a vertical integration and sustainable development perspective, Nouveau Monde is planning the establishment of a large-scale graphite secondary transformation facility, catering the needs of the booming lithium-ion battery and expandable graphite markets.

With over 60 years of experience in the world of graphite, Nouveau Monde’s team develops its project with the utmost respect of neighbouring communities, while favoring a minimal ecological footprint. Nouveau Monde’s project is privileged by direct access to the workforce and infrastructure needed to operate its mining project, and it can also rely on an abundant, affordable and renewable source of hydroelectricity.